Miko Peled took a circuitous route to becoming a Middle East peace activist. He grew up in Israel, the son of Matti Peled, a war hero who served in the Jewish state’s war of independence in 1948 – and who served as a general in 1967, when Israel annexed Gaza, the West Bank, the Golan Heights and Sinai Peninsula. Peled’s grandfather was Avraham Katsnelson, a Zionist leader and signer on Israel’s Declaration of Independence. Miko’s current activism can be traced to his father’s transformation, from a general during the Six-Day War, to becoming a scholar in the Arabic language and literature at Tel Aviv University. Gen. Peled later became a passionate peace activist and an advocate of negotiation with the then-outlawed Palestinian Liberation Organization. As a member of the Israeli Knesset or parliament, he campaigned for an Israeli withdrawal from all the Occupied Territories he had earlier helped conquer as a general. Story continues
Transition Movement Seeks to Build Community Resilience Amid Energy, Climate Change and Economic Crises

The annual Slow Living Summit in Brattleboro, Vt., is a gathering focused on sustainable living, resilient communities, and the personal, inner transformations that are necessary for both. At this year’s Summit, June 5-7, some of the plenaries and workshops included presenters on the Transition Movement, made up of people who recognize the seismic shift in society that’s occurring due to peak oil and climate disruption, and who want to prepare themselves and their communities to make that transition as smoothly as possible. Story continues
New Mindset Needed to Effectively Protect Earth’s Ecosystem

Interview with Frances Moore Lappé, author of 18 books, including the three-million copy “Diet for a Small Planet”, conducted by Scott Harris

When Frances Moore Lappé wrote her first book, “Diet for a Small Planet,” in 1971, little did she know that her research would move a nation to reconsider what they ate and how modern agriculture and factory farming negatively affected world hunger and the planet’s ecosystem. The book, which sold 3 million copies, extolled the virtues of a vegetarian diet and changed the way a new generation thought about food, nutrition and health. You can trace today’s popularity of organic food, the mainstreaming of vegetarianism and healthy food marketing strategies to many of the ideas written in Lappé’s, “Diet For a Small Planet,” published more than 40 years ago. Story continues
This week’s summary of under-reported news

Compiled by Bob Nixon

The growing search for non-Middle Eastern oil has put new focus on West Africa and the Guinea coast. (“The lure of oil and the drug war: why Washington joined the battle for West Africa,” AlterNet, May 28, 2013)
Family post-traumatic stress disorder therapy programs that are available to active duty personnel, are not available to discharged veterans, their spouses and children. (“Hearts and Minds,” Mother Jones, January/February 2013)
A massive oxygen depleted dead zone the size of Connecticut haunts fishermen trying to make a living in the Gulf of Mexico near the Mississippi River Delta. (“A river runs through it,” American Prospect, May/June 2013)

Israeli War Hero’s Son Challenges His Nation’s Policies Toward Palestinians

Miko Peled took a circuitous route to becoming a Middle East peace activist. He grew up in Israel, the son of Matti Peled, a war hero who served in the Jewish state’s war of independence in 1948 – and who served as a general in 1967, when Israel annexed Gaza, the West Bank, the Golan Heights and Sinai Peninsula. Peled’s grandfather was Avraham Katsnelson, a Zionist leader and signer on Israel’s Declaration of Independence. Miko’s current activism can be traced to his father’s transformation, from a general during the Six-Day War, to becoming a scholar in the Arabic language and literature at Tel Aviv University. Gen. Peled later became a passionate peace activist and an advocate of negotiation with the then-outlawed Palestinian Liberation Organization. As a member of the Israeli Knesset or parliament, he campaigned for an Israeli withdrawal from all the Occupied Territories he had earlier helped conquer as a general. Story continues
Transition Movement Seeks to Build Community Resilience Amid Energy, Climate Change and Economic Crises

The annual Slow Living Summit in Brattleboro, Vt., is a gathering focused on sustainable living, resilient communities, and the personal, inner transformations that are necessary for both. At this year’s Summit, June 5-7, some of the plenaries and workshops included presenters on the Transition Movement, made up of people who recognize the seismic shift in society that’s occurring due to peak oil and climate disruption, and who want to prepare themselves and their communities to make that transition as smoothly as possible. Story continues
New Mindset Needed to Effectively Protect Earth’s Ecosystem

Interview with Frances Moore Lappé, author of 18 books, including the three-million copy “Diet for a Small Planet”, conducted by Scott Harris

When Frances Moore Lappé wrote her first book, “Diet for a Small Planet,” in 1971, little did she know that her research would move a nation to reconsider what they ate and how modern agriculture and factory farming negatively affected world hunger and the planet’s ecosystem. The book, which sold 3 million copies, extolled the virtues of a vegetarian diet and changed the way a new generation thought about food, nutrition and health. You can trace today’s popularity of organic food, the mainstreaming of vegetarianism and healthy food marketing strategies to many of the ideas written in Lappé’s, “Diet For a Small Planet,” published more than 40 years ago. Story continues
This week’s summary of under-reported news

Compiled by Bob Nixon

The growing search for non-Middle Eastern oil has put new focus on West Africa and the Guinea coast. (“The lure of oil and the drug war: why Washington joined the battle for West Africa,” AlterNet, May 28, 2013)
Family post-traumatic stress disorder therapy programs that are available to active duty personnel, are not available to discharged veterans, their spouses and children. (“Hearts and Minds,” Mother Jones, January/February 2013)
A massive oxygen depleted dead zone the size of Connecticut haunts fishermen trying to make a living in the Gulf of Mexico near the Mississippi River Delta. (“A river runs through it,” American Prospect, May/June 2013)